It's time for part two of my interview with Kate Connally, Vice President of AddictingGames. This time we chat about things like the development team that's porting the games to the iPhone and what challenges they might run into. I also find out their stance on developing original content and iPhone only sequels to Flash originals. Plus, I conclude this week's segment with a look at another one of AddictingGames' iPhone launch titles: World Wars. Without further ado, here's the interview...

I love the new feature in iTunes 9 that lets you organize your apps via your desktop computer. I find it to be quicker and easier than doing it via my iPhone. Still, one of the weaknesses of the interface is that you have to page through a bunch of screens to find the app you want, and it's hard to tell at a glance which page you're on. AppButler is an amazingly simple, yet clever solution. For now, it's a free service that you access by pointing your iPhone's Safari at appbutler.com. They have an app awaiting approval that will cost $2.99. Here's how the free service works.

News is spreading that some iPhone owners are having sucess with using MMS before the planned September 25th launch date.

The ability to send and receive multimedia attachments via text messaging has been a long desired function of iPhone users. iPhone users were delighted when Apple released its new OS 3.0 for iPhone in June with MMS support. That joy was quickly faded when AT&T restricted the use of that function for fear of service quality issues with so many users sending data over their network.

AT&T promised that the function would be available in the Fall and appears to be making good on that promise when they announced the September release date.

I've written before about the State of Maine's laptop initiative and Apple's role. Well this past week Maine held it's first public sale of used iBooks, and to my surprise I found the first wave of MacBooks will soon be available for the next sale (date TBA) for $400 each, a bargain and you can bet I'll be in line when this sale gets going.

With all the great apps showing up in the iTunes Store every day I sometimes forget all the great features in iPhone 3.0 that can really help you to make the most out of your iPhone or iPod Touch experience. As a graduate student, and administrator in a health care organization I'm constantly running numbers either checking statistics or an expense, the iPhone lets you copy and paste from the calculator app direct into another application like notes. Of course it's frustrating when you're trying to type in the URL of site you just heard about, and keep getting it wrong - so how do erase what you've mistyped? You just shake the iPhone.

I've long been into healthy living. And it's done well by me. So I was pleased to see iVeda recently released, since it's a handy app for helping you integrate into your life my favorite system of alternative healthcare: Ayurveda. What I like about Ayurveda is that it does away with the notion of "one size fits all." Instead, this system that originated in ancient India says that there are different body types and that the way to get healthy and stay healthy varies according to one's body type. Me, I'm a "vata" body type — underweight, uncomfortable in cold weather, light sleeper.

The biggest problem I've had with my iPod Touch is that I don't use it very often, so I don't realize the battery has run out until I want to use it, and then it's usually inconvenient to plug into an outlet or computer -- I want to use it right away! Fortunately, there's a gadget for just this situation: a backup battery. The one I have is a RichardSolo 1800, pictured at right. It lets me use the iPod right away, and if I leave it plugged in it will take the iPod battery all the way to full charge. Then I can plug the battery into a wall or USB port at my convenience.

You know how frustrating it can be to try to send that LOL or OMG reply one-handed. Why not add a whole library of quick text replies to your iPhone with iQuickText? Now you can stay engaged in the conversation, and finish that Big Mac without hesitation! Not that I am, ahem, advocating eating and texting at the same time. I wish not to be held responsible for the dry-cleaning bill for removing mustard stains from your favorite jacket!

Jimmy Gilberti doesn't like it, and neither do I. Maybe we're missing something. On his Quimondo website today he rails about iTunes 9, which he says gives inferior App Store search results compared to the old version. The reason: you can no longer sort by popularity. Do a search on a generic term such as "horoscope," and the search results appear in seeming random order. Lots of pretty icons but no information about the apps relative to the others.

"ESPN Mobile launched its latest application to the Apple iTunes App Store today, when it debuted ESPN Fantasy Football. The app provides millions of ESPN Fantasy Football players full control and management of their ESPN teams and leagues, live scores and stats, personalized alerts and exclusive editorial -- all from their iPhone or iPod Touch device."

Stay totally in every game with this new app from ESPN Mobile. Only $4.99, so simply search for it in the App Store app on your iPhone or iPod touch... See a demo at the link above.

CNet gives a nice short overview of yesterday's announcements by Apple of a new video iPod, lower prices on the iPod touch, iTunes 9, and iPhone 3.1. You can also watch a video of the event, which featured Mr. Jobs himself, on Apple's website. It lasts about an hour and 15 minutes and includes demos of the new features in iTunes. An interesting focus of the event was the iPod touch, which Apple is now promoting as a game machine.

There’s something to be said for those games where you basically fly through tunnels trying not to hit the walls. That something is for the most part that if you’ve played one, you’ve played them all. Then along comes Graviton to take that theory, shatter it to pieces, and leave it floating in a huge pool of lava. From the fact that you have an object besides your ship to protect to the realization that every level is filled to the brim with delicately timed situations and intricate puzzles, you’ll soon understand that Graviton is not your mother’s iCopter clone. Not only am I thankful for that, but I’m grateful that the developers have taken such a base concept and made such an incredible game out of it.

As a writer for iPhone Life magazine who’s interested in the arts and humanities as well as educational uses of the iPhone, I've been wanting to really probe a bit on my own, how the experience of the iPhone might contribute to the process of education and our understanding of the world. A mentor of mine, Allan DiBiase who's background is in educational philosophy and the arts (in his case music), started me thinking about how critical the process of experience is in shaping meaning.

Apple held a much-heralded press conference today, and the big news was the release of iPhone 3.1 and iTunes 9. Of course, a lot of people were expecting a tablet computer or some other goody to be announced, but zilch there. However, the "one more thing" today was a new iPod Nano with a built-in video camera to compete with the wildly popular Flip.

I like MacWorld's reviews and articles. And their new app, called App Gems, looks to be really useful. Each weekday this app highlights and App Gem of the day — an app that's highly recommended by their staff of experts. Plus, the app also includes Essential Collections of great apps, which are handpicked by the editors and writers at MacWorld. You can also see lists of top-rated apps by category. And finally, App Gems includes news stories, blog posts, and tips posted on Macworld.com. The app is $1.99.